Parish Registers held at WSHC

Parish History

The parish includes Bowden Hill and its church St. Anne's. It also includes the hamlet of Notton.

Lacock is a very pretty village. Its olde worlde charm has attracted many TV and film crews to to use the period buildings as backdrops for adaptations of historical novels such as those written by Jane Austen and Thomas Hardy. The Abbey was also the location for the first Harry Potter film.

The world's first ever photograph, of the oriel window in the Abbey's library, was taken here by William Fox Talbot in 1835.

An Augustinian nunnery was founded at Lacock where the parish church now stands. The usual array of chapels east of the transept includes, on the north side, a fine mid 15th century structure, beautifully vaulted and finished externally with elaborate battlements and pinnacles. The carving on the tomb of the grantee of the Abbey, Sir William Sharrington who died in 1553, is said to represent the finest example of its period in the country. It is doubtless due to its monastic associations that Lacock church is so plentifully embellished with medieval carved grotesques.

Lacock Cemetery

Maps

Public Houses

George Inn

Lacock is also one of England's loveliest villages, and was already established when Ela, Countess of Salisbury, founded the Abbey in 1232. Fox Talbot, the pioneer of photography, lived at the Abbey, and it was Miss Matilda Talbot who presented the Abbey and much of the village to the National Trust in 1944. The outstanding feature of the 14th century inn is the dogspit, this being the only one of its kind still in its original position. The inn's license dates from 1361, and it is thought to be the oldest continuously licensed inn in the country.

Census Returns Transcripts

Election and Polls

Entertainment

Parrots of Lacock

When the sun shines it is no surprise for some visitors to think they have found themselves transported to a surreal part of the Amazon Rain Forest whilst taking in the sites in and around Lacock Abbey. For several years visitors have been able to meet Dave Vickery and his parrots which he regularly takes for walks within the grounds and cloisters of the Abbey. Dave and his parrots who I am assured are a family have become somewhat a visitor attraction with the parrots gaining much attention from curious tourists as the wander around taking in the sights made famous by William Henry Fox Talbot and his new invention of photography. To read more about Dave, Kenny, Ollie, Phoebe, Sydney and of course Mum follow the Parrotland Website

Family Notices

Inquest Reports

Personal Research Items

Tuck Family Research Burial Extracts - This item was donated by Ken Tuck and contains entries that may or may not relate to the Tuck family however they have been published as such. Many refer to Quaker burials found across the county